Quad ESL 57 - Which to buy

The rebuild was done this winter, but i am not sure of the cost. It wasn't done by Wayne Picquet or one of the better known US rebuilders. I don't know who did them, but I have seen photos documenting the rebuild of the panels and it looked very professional. Will see what I can find out.

Buy both pairs. Stack 'em. Bliss!
:)

(I still have my old pair, in desperate need of restoration, as well as a later
Crosby 63. I find the original to be unmatched in coherence).

I have a pair of restored quads and I love them. I would always be worrying about some component going bad on a stock unit such as the power supplies or a panel. Also look at the binding posts or the renovated versions to see of they work better with your cables. Remember that the original binding posts were close together and without a protection circuit, you could short them out easily. The other big selling point is the protection circuit for the speakers in the renovated pair...this saves you from any "oops" experiences.

Hope this helps....

Hi, Elizabeth's points are right on. If cheap enough I would lean towards the originals and budget for a rebuild at some point.

I have a 989's and they are amazing, but each has required service. The services were painless, except maybe the shipping. The 989's are large and the original shipping boxes aren't all that great.

The main issue, IMHO, is once you hear ESL's it's difficult to listen to more conventional designs. Another bonus, if you can call it that, is that the Quad's do it with low watt (tube) amps.. I'm using a 25 watt EL 34 amp with, to my ear, great results (with Pangea power cords-thank you Elizabeth for your review of those cords). The original Quad amps, I believe, are 15 watts and more than enough to drive the 57's. So, be carefully with the 40 watt amps - you might consider selling those and getting the standard 15's.

Best of luck-enjoy

Note: consider ofc speaker cable that is either plated with silver or has silver strands mixed in--- that type of cable did make a difference on my Quads.

I am also from Ontario Canada,and used to own two pair of 57's which I stacked, so you can see where this is going.

Buy both pair, compare them and then if the modded pair sound better get the other pair modded from the same fellow.

Believe me, the small cost of a DIY frame(check the Quad esl sites)and the cost to mod the second pair(if needed)to give you a balanced stack will be worth every dollar and then some.

Stacked Quad 57's are a real treat and if more people could hear them, no one would settle for just a single pair.

I've been an esl fan for years, owned the 63, the stacked 57,several CLS, and now on my second Acoustat 3,this time the right way with the tube servo amps.

There's something very special about stacked 57's that set them apart from all the other speakers I've owned, and mine weren't matched.

If you can swing it, buy both pair.

I should note that I have no affiliation or knowledge of the Quads you are speaking about.I regretably sold my stacked pair about 7 years ago.